The death of a Tamagotchi was made all the more painful by the knowledge that you, the user, had likely played a part in their death. “I left him in my room and when I came back he was dead.” It was helpless without its users and, in return for our raising it, an emotional bond was formed. However, this was in a more abstract sense, such as our amazement that a programmed opponent in a computer game might beat us.Ī Tamagotchi was, by design, supposed to simulate aliveness - complete with the messy realities of pooping, exercising, eating and other biological requirements that no self-respecting PC ever thrust upon its owners. Researchers had been noticing since the 1980s that a large number of people attributed some level of mind to a personal computer. In being so classified, Tamagotchis represented an important development in tech history. On a spectrum of aliveness, a Tamagotchi seemed less alive than a flesh-and-blood creature but more alive than, say, a family computer or even a beloved games console. But, like some kind of digital life remix of Schrödinger’s cat thought experiment, they also weren’t not alive. Tamagotchis (a mash-up of the Japanese words for “egg” and “watch”) were not, kids realized, really alive in the same way as a parent, sibling, or even a family pet. Fitbit Versa 3Ī Tamagotchi was, by design, supposed to simulate aliveness - complete with the messy realities that come with owning a pet
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